Investigation of Cold Atmospheric Plasma Activity in PCL/ZnO Tissue Scaffolding To Be Used in Wound Tissues

Abstract

Wounds can be vital dangerous for a patient’s life, so wound healing is one of the essential topics. Tissue engineers have investigated tissue scaffolds for wound healing. Scaffolding materials can be natural or synthetic, and the researchers use polycaprolactone (PCL) and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles to improve wound healing and minimize the infection risk. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is a new area. CAP is used in many areas such as cancer treatment; besides, it is the more crucial properties to avoid the bacteria formation and provide healing the many different types of wound tissues. In this sense, plasma is of great importance in protecting life in all kinds of materials that will be placed inside the living thing. In this study, PCL were used in different amounts of ZnO-NPs; 5%, 10%, and 15% of total weight. Then, scaffolds were obtained using the electrospinning technique. CAP applied on the obtained scaffolds in different exposure times; 15 sec., 25sec., and 35sec. After CAP treatment; contact angle measurement and antibacterial test were made. Test results show that, depending on the CAP exposure time, the contact angle decreases, but the antibacterial effect increases.